April 25 Hanuman's Birthday

Decorated Elephant

Balancing Act

Well Trained Horses!

Hanuman's Birthday was celebrated in grand style with a parade and gathering in the main chowk at Jagdish Temple downtown.  Along the parade route there were tables set up to give cups of water to the revelers to counteract the effects of the heat.  Women balanced jugs of water with a coconut on top, camels pulled carts, decorated elephants marched by, and white stallions performed steps for the crowd.


There are so many religious holidays, I should have known my tailor would not be open for this one.  I guess I will pick up my new pants tomorrow.  Even the government offices were closed, which kept me from getting my letter to leave the country. 


I am really looking forward to leaving this heat behind for the cooler days and chilly nights of Nepal.  The summers in Udaipur and in fact, most of India are extremely hot...shades of Texas at over 100 degrees!   I have 2 weeks in Nepal, then back to Delhi for the flight home to Cape Coral, FL.
 

April 24th Day at the Pool

My friend, Nicola, and I went to the upscale hotel down the street from me to relax at their pool.  For the reasonable fee of Rs 200 (under $4) they furnish towels, lounges, and a bathroom with shower. You can order food from the kitchen, which they deliver poolside.  Yes, a bit of luxury is great once in awhile!



On the grounds live 3 Sulcatta tortoises with the most interesting design on their back.  It actually looks like small pyramids!  Late afternoon they feed them cucumbers and tomatoes.  They are ready to eat as soon as dinner is served!

March 30, 2013 Cooking Class

Hyderbadi Biryani Rice

I finally got around to taking a formal cooking class.  I already can make several dishes as well as chapati (flat unleavened bread), but felt the need to learn curry and masala dishes. 

The class lasted 2 hours and covered 5 dishes - Spinach Potato Soup with coconut milk, Hyderbadi Biryani Rice, Cholla Masala (chick peas), Eggplant Curry, and Paranthas (flat bread filled with a potato mixture and served with curd).  It was a great combination of dishes served here and I felt with this variety I could cook most of the Indian dishes.  Curry and masala are the mainstays of most dishes.

I joined 2 French tourist and a German girl joined us at the last moment. 

Class Participants

The four of us ate ourselves into oblivion as we cooked one dish after another - how fun and tasty at the same time!  I can't wait to return to the states and try out my new cooking skills on anyone who is adventurous enough to try my dishes!  Curry anyone?

March 27, 2013 Happy Holi!

Gaines in Color

The celebration of Holi takes place over 2 days, the first being a religious ceremony and low key, while the second day is referred to as Color Day.  Color Day is one of many colors as the title implies - fuscia, green, blue, red, and yellow powders are thrown, rubbed on, and sprinkled on top of your head by hand.  Bags of color are sold at the stores lining the streets in plastic bags, which are hung on your belt, dipped into, and dispersed.  If you are on the streets, you are liable to be colored in many shades as well as water balloons thrown from motorcycles and and buckets of water from rooftops.  If that's not enough the small children get you with water pistols!

I went to a party in the chowk (open area) next to Little Prince Guesthouse. 

Holi Dancing!

Music played full blast as the dancing began.  Colored powder filled the air as we gyrated to the music...well, the guys did most of the gyrating.  Children gathered along with women in saris; everyone covered in color!  What a great celebration!  As the day wore on, I decided to make my way back across the foot bridge and home.  Needless to say in the 20 minutes it took me to walk home, I had 2 buckets of water thrown on me, 3 water balloons thrown from bikes, and many people wishing me a Happy Holi as they rubbed color on my face and hair.  I looked like a colorful, drowned rat by the time I got home!  Too fun!